On Thursday I started my training at the container store, where I am working part-time for the time being. After spending the day learning about the company they almost seem too good to be true. An example. Their founding principle: "Fill the other guys basket to the brim", focus on serving those around before yourself. They don't want people to buy what they don't need and are all about developing people...It was a big day, but I left very impressed. Their mascot: Gumbie!..Be flexible. With such a great day at the TCS, it was hard to want to tackle the traffic on I-25 to go into Denver to finally meet face-to-face with the Anthropologie store manager at Cherry Creek. I was referred to this store after 3 interviews with their other location in Colorado. What is exciting is the position I would be training for is in the visual/concepts dept., or under the art director. Every Store has 2 sets of management; sales and visual. Their unique quality lies in their freedom of creativity. Unlike most retail stores whom are given floor layout, sets and standards, Anthropologie has 2 artist per store who design everything beyond the store windows, giving each store it's own feel. They are a sister store to Urban Outfitters. One cool thing about this Anthropologie store is the location. I had not explored the Cherry Creekarea much, mainly due to talk of how expensive it was, but today on my little adventure out I found out why people would pay so much to live here. Most of my impression of the residential area in Denver was 'new construction' everywhere you look they are building...Well it turns out if you are brave enough to travel I-25 (They reworking the interstate: due to be done 2007) into the older parts of Denver you find a plethora of old cute housing(the $800K+ homes are in the cherry creek village). The streets are lined with mature trees, brick houses, and it gives you a feel of some of Chicago, but with seemingly unending sunshine!! There were even (3) large green parks, not something I was used to seeing! One of those parks is Washington Park, which I found out today the area is called 'wash park'. After utilizing my trusty Craigs'list search, I soon found some rentals in the area. My favorite was posted 2 days ago, I called today and the woman said she had already shown the 2 places to 15 people!! So we will see. This could prove harder than actually being able to move! http://denver.craigslist.org/apa/93087334.html http://denver.craigslist.org/apa/91028200.html Find a container store near you! http://www.containerstore.com/find/index.jhtml

Another update! With the help of Josh's tuition reimbursement we are now looking at Denver Seminary...One of our main criteria in looking into different schools has been price. At Denver Seminary if we are both attending (the plan) one spouse only pays half of tuition! The program is the same number of hours at CU, but is closer to Josh's work...so we have yet another road to walk down and explore it's possibilities.

http://www.denverseminary.edu/

Part of my time these last few days has been spent trying to come up with cheap, mentally stimulating and time consuming toys for Dolly. I had no idea how much energy one animal could have. I mean, yes my horse would have up days, but she didn't reside in the same living space. To dolly, EVERYTHING is a toy...The pillow, a shoe, the trash, your foot, anything that fits in her mouth. After doing some reading on how long this stage for a border collie/retriever mix would last I discovered that we would need some new and creative ideas for play toys. New things I learned.. 1. Herding dogs need time with people, if you are gone during the day have them sleep in the same room as you. Being in your presence even if you are sleeping counts as time together! 2. Border collies are very intelligent and the slight change in commands will through them off and confuse them. 3. Despite their intelligence, the small nipping they do is near impossible to rid them of. Supposedly they assume everyone has a furry coat or is like a fuzzy sheep. 4. Finally, the 'make-it-yourself' cheap toy of the week is: A juice/water bottle (cleaned out) with a few pieces of dog food rolled in peanut butter inside. If you can step on the mouth of the bottle to close it more it will last longer. This worked especially well on wood floors where she couldn't keep the bottle in one place very easily. 5. If you have any ideas, let me know! Emily

Meet Dolly.

she only looks harmless...

Dolly playing with Ike when she was still his size

For some time now I have been on this 'journey', this path of questioning, observing, and trying to make sense of this world in which we live. One of the pressing questions that never really seems to leave the back of my mind is the question of Faith. I have described it before by referring to the scene in the movie Meet Joe Black, when the voice of Brad Pitt rings in Anthony Hopkins head, "yes", and later 'Joe' says the answer to the question he has been asking himself is yes. O.K., so my answer is not "yes", but the scene reminds me of the ever-floating questions in my own mind. In all the spinning, there was comfort tonight listening to a classic song on the radio. Maybe it was the comfort of the image- strong pounding of hands on the soft piano keys producing chords as the song begins, or maybe knowing that people long before my own life, have questioned the world around them and have expressed such questions in a multitude of ways, and thus made progress. You can see it when you read the Bible, when you flip through magazines, when you drive through the changing urban development, and when you surf the net....I guess my intent was not to be deep, but to share a little comfort or peace I experienced this evening. Take it how you wish. Have A Little Faith In Me. When The Road Gets Dark And You Can No Longer See Let My Love Throw A Spark Have A Little Faith In Me And When The Tears You CryAre All You Can Believe Give These Loving Arms A Try BabyHave A Little Faith In Me When Your Secret Heart Cannot Speak So EasilyFrom A Whisper Start To Have A Little Faith In Me And When Your Back's Against The Wall Just Turn Around And You Will SeeI Will Catch Your Fall Have A Little Faith In Me I've Been Loving You For Such A Long Time Expecting Nothing In Return Just For You To Have A Little Faith In Me You Know Time, Time Is Our Friend I Will Hold You Up, I Will Hold You Up Your Love Gives Me Strength Enough Have A Little Faith In Me

Emily.

Here today, gone tomorrow The Johnson's and the Jackson's came into Colorado Friday evening. It felt like it had been forever since we last saw them, and at the same time, nothing had changed. That night we all went out and celebrated Josh's 26th birthday with some margaritas and an amazing mint chocolate chip Coldstone cake. Saturday we went downtown and checked out REI (no, it is not just online) and than on to Boulder. If you have never been to Boulder it is a definite must. Filled with hippies, street performers, and every artsy fartsy store imaginable, Boulder is the creative person's haven. To top it all, we even ran into our dear friend Tara McPhailers. It was a short time with friends, but it was wonderful. Saturday morning the Jackson's and the Johnson's drove off into the unusually cold and rainy weather. We miss them already. Have a blast in California guys. Love ya squints! Happy Birthday.

MY FIRST POST I have yet to make a post on this blog, so today shall be my first. Let me begin by updating you on our life here so far. My wonderful sister Natalie was recently married in a wine vineyard in Oregon, (you may have seen the pictures). It was a beautiful day and I am thankful to have a brother in law that is perfect for Natalie. Nonetheless, the day was a hard one for me. I miss my sister and it is hard for me to see her take this next step in life. I have to admit that at the reception I just had to leave. I could not hold it in and I cried like a baby. The wedding also marked another big step in mine and Emily's lives. We had been planning on moving to California for a long time now, but we are now deciding to stay in Colorado. It is a good choice, but a difficult one. I think that with every choice one makes they are letting go of something else. Life in Colorado seems as though we are on the verge of breakthrough. Emily and I have been going through the interview process with a number of different companies and this week will begin to tell us what lies ahead. Emily and I have also been trying our hand at various financial opportunities, one being the buying and selling of two cars we have acquired. This week one of these cars might be taken off our hands and it couldn't come soon enough. In the end we will look back at this venture as a learning process we will not soon forget. Relief also comes to us in the way of friends. This Wednesday the Johnson's and the Jackson's will be visiting Emily and I on their way to California. It feels like forever since we last saw them and it will be wonderful to see them again. I think it will be just what Emily and I need to re-energize us for all that lies ahead. I will leave you with a few tips on buying and selling cars should you ever decide to try: 1. Don't do it. 2. Do not buy a car that is brand new and do not buy a car that is over eight years old. (If you buy a car that is too new, most people won't be able to afford to purchase the car and would prefer to do financing through a dealership. Loans that are not for a dealership car tend to have higher interest rates. If the car is too old you probably won't get what you want out of it because the buyer will be thinking of potential repairs that might be needed.) 3. Do not advertise the car in the local paper. (Most papers will offer a deal where you can list the car in the paper for two weeks and it will stay online until it sells. This deal is usually around $90 and produces little result.) 4. Advertise through listings such as cars.com, craigslist.com, or autotrader. These listings are usually either free or cheaper than the newspaper and will bring better results than most other options. 5. Take your car through the state emissions test so that you can give the passing certificate to buyers. (This is just an added relief to buyers and adds that extra touch.) 6. Create a blog that you can refer to on your listings. (A blog will allow you to place limitless amounts of information and pictures.) 7. Make references on your blog to other sites where your car has received good reviews. Consumer reports is a good one to list and hopefully you are not selling a car that has received a bad report. 8. Get your car history report. (At carfax.com you can pay a small fee and get around ten uses. This is good for you when you are buying a car so you know the car's history and it is great to print off and show potential buyers when asked about previous accidents or owners.) 9. When negotiating prices and you are asked how low you will go, do not give a number. Instead, respond by saying, "how much are you looking to spend." This will allow you to put the ball back in their court and will help create commitment to the vehicle. 10. Do not buy a car from the Midwest. (Most buyers look at midwest cars as a red flag because of rust problems.) 11. Be patient. Selling cars can take time and it is easy to get restless. If you are impatient you might ended up getting less than you want because you are dying to get rid of the vehicle. 12. There are probably more tips to be given, but as a final suggestion I recommend that you look into real estate.

These are a Few of My Favorite things... 1. Reading the Paper in the morning 2. Trying to train or at least manage my youngest brothers dog/puppy. 3. Checking Voicemail to hear another message for another interview from another company preferably 'next week'. 4. Reading people's blogs, We have had quite a riot reading some people's stories and realizing how well people Write!! Good thoughts! 5. Reading all the books I'd only wished I had time for months ago. 6. Well not quite a top ten, but it's a start, you HAVE to find joy in the little things during transition or you will go mad. I know from experience =)

We finally have some pictures from Natalie's Wedding! I am having a really hard time making them a size visually pleasing, but for now this will have to do!! It will give me something to work on...Katie S. took the pictures and 'invited' us to her sight to view them where as a slideshow. If anyone wants to see them, post or email us your email and we will send it out. Enjoy! Isn't Oregon beautiful!! The small thumbnails hardly do it justice.

Loaded up and ready to GO

Check Out Info on the canyon

Com'n attcha....The Poudre Canyon Near Ft. Collins

Ready for the Second Run

Yesterday we headed north to Ft. Collins to explore Poudre Canyon. Loading up the van and stopping at Gart Sports and the local store JAX, we were ready to tube the river. The first time down the river we took the easy route, making sure everyone felt comfortable with their tubes. It was great to see so many people of all walks of life out enjoying the day. The second run down the river proved to be more exciting! Although the water was freezing, We will DEFINATELy where better gear next time, you forgot the water temp as you headed down the rapids. The most exciting was mad dog, a class III rapids. I cant wait to go again, hopefully next time we can camp as well.